A Journey into the Interior of the Earth

Classics for Your Collection: goo.gl/U80LCr --------- The story begins in May 1863, in the Lidenbrock house in Hamburg, Germany, with Professor Lidenbrock rushing home to peruse his latest purchase, an original runic manuscript of an Icelandic saga written by Snorri Sturluson (Snorre Tarleson in some versions of the story), "Heimskringla"; the chronicle of the Norwegian kings who ruled over Iceland. While looking through the book, Lidenbrock and his nephew Axel find a coded note written in runic script along with the name of a 16th-century Icelandic alchemist, Arne Saknussemm. (This was a first indication of Verne's love for cryptography. Coded, cryptic or incomplete messages as a plot device would continue to appear in many of his works and in each case Verne would go a long way to explain not only the code used but also the mechanisms used to retrieve the original text.) Lidenbrock and Axel transliterate the runic characters into Latin letters, revealing a message written in a seemingly bizarre code. Lidenbrock attempts a decipherment, deducing the message to be a kind of transposition cipher; but his results are as meaningless as the original. Professor Lidenbrock decides to lock everyone in the house and force himself and the others (Axel, and the maid, Martha) to go without food until he cracks the code. Axel discovers the answer when fanning himself with the deciphered text: Lidenbrock's decipherment was correct, and only needs to be read backwards to reveal sentences written in rough Latin. Axel decides to keep the secret hidden from Professor Lidenbrock, afraid of what the Professor might do with the knowledge, but after two days without food he cannot stand the hunger and reveals the secret to his uncle. Lidenbrock translates the note, which is revealed to be a medieval note written by the (fictional) Icelandic alchemist Arne Saknussemm, who claims to have discovered a passage to the center of the Earth via Snæfell in Iceland. THE DECIPHERED MESSAGE READS: . “Descend, bold traveller, into the crater of the jökull of Snæfell, which the shadow of Scartaris touches (lit: tastes) before the Kalends of July, and you will attain the center of the earth. I did it.” Arne Saknussemm Professor Lidenbrock is a man of astonishing impatience, and departs for Iceland immediately, taking his reluctant nephew with him. The rest is a great adventure. Scroll Up and Get Your Copy! Oz Books: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz https://www.createspace.com/6426287 TIK-TOK of OZ https://www.createspace.com/6353841 Ozma of Oz https://www.createspace.com/6356346 Glinda of OZ https://www.createspace.com/6461890 The Scarecrow of OZ https://www.createspace.com/6461981 The Marvelous Land of Oz https://www.createspace.com/6462832 Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz https://www.createspace.com/6464450 The Road to Oz by https://www.createspace.com/6464521 The Emerald City of Oz https://www.createspace.com/6464602 The Patchwork Girl of Oz https://www.createspace.com/6464682 The Lost Princess of Oz https://www.createspace.com/6465342 The Tin Woodman of Oz https://www.createspace.com/6466582 Rinkitink in Oz https://www.createspace.com/6464764 The Magic of Oz https://www.createspace.com/6466620 Grimm’s Fairy Tales by Brothers Grimm https://www.createspace.com/6440051 Sky Island by L. Frank Baum https://www.createspace.com/6446563 The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett https://www.createspace.com/6455917